• Gonorrhea is a high priority on the WHO list of antimicrobial resistant bacteria
• The world’s first intranasal prophylactic vaccine candidate against gonorrhea
• Mucosal vaccine platforms offer a broad opportunity for viral and bacterial vaccines

BILTHOVEN, The Netherlands, October 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — intravacc, a global leader in translational research and development of preventive and therapeutic vaccines, announced today that it has been awarded a contract with a basis and options that may be total $14.6 million from the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), for the development of a prophylactic intranasal vaccine against Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG). Gonorrhea is a sexually transmitted disease caused by the NG bacterium. Intravacc will develop a prophylactic vaccine based on its proprietary outer membrane vesicle (OMV) platform technology.

The NG vaccine, designated NGoXIM, is based on gonococcal OMVs in combination with sustained-release microspheres containing recombinant human IL-12 and is administered intranasally. Proof-of-concept studies with NGoXIM have already shown that the vaccine is effective in animal models and induces a strong, sustained and cross-protective immune response. Intravacc will develop a full production process for NGoXIM to manufacture batches of vaccine in accordance with Good Manufacturing Practice. The Company will be working toward a batch of non-clinical toxicity (TOX) and clinical trial material to conduct a Phase I study in healthy adults to assess the safety of the vaccine and generate efficacy data. The IL-12 containing microspheres called GneX12 are developed and manufactured by Therapyx Inc.

gonorrhea

Gonorrhea is the second most common bacterial infectious disease in the US with a reported incidence of more than 300,000 cases per year. Due to poor coverage and the asymptomatic course of the disease, the true incidence is believed to be more than double the reported incidence. NG, a…